CM Siddaramaiah urges Centre to ensure fair fund allocation to K'taka under 16th Finance Commission
Raichur (Karnataka), Jun 23 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday urged the central government to ensure fair allocation of funds to the State under the 16th Finance Commission, claiming that it has suffered a loss of around Rs 80,000 crore in allocations compared to the 14th Finance Commission.
Addressing the media here, he criticised BJP MPs from Karnataka, alleging that "not a single saffron party MP has raised their voice on this serious injustice to the state."
Siddaramaiah alleged that despite being an influential minister close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has failed to secure the release of Rs 11,495 crore recommended as a special grant to Karnataka by the Finance Commission.
"He has no moral right to talk about Karnataka’s interests when this rightful grant is yet to be released," he claimed.
Siddaramaiah reiterated the state’s demand for a special grant from the Centre for the development of the Kalyana Karnataka region.
Karnataka already allocates Rs 5,000 crore annually for the region’s growth, and it is only fair that the union government also contributes, he said.
He added that his government will also examine the proposal to create a dedicated Ministry for Kalyana Karnataka to further strengthen development efforts.
Reacting to Minister H K Patil’s letter on illegal mining, Siddaramaiah acknowledged the recommendation to establish a special court to expedite investigations and recover dues from illegal mining cases.
He recalled that the Santosh Hegde Lokayukta report on illegal mining remains inadequately addressed and referred to his role in raising the issue in the Assembly, including participation in the Bellary padayatra against illegal mining in the past.
Regarding the concerns raised by Congress MLA Raju Kage about the lack of development activities in his Kagwad constituency, the CM assured that he would hold discussions with the MLA and that special grants would be prioritised for constituencies in need.
On MLA Belur Gopalakrishna’s reported statement regarding alleged corruption in housing schemes for the poor, Siddaramaiah said he would gather further details and informed that MLA B R Patil is scheduled to meet him on June 25 to discuss issues related to the Housing Department.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
